Investments in climate protection projects and new technologies
Climate protection projects
Through investments in climate protection projects and new technologies, unavoidable CO2 emissions can be addressed elsewhere by achieving emission reduction or by binding CO2 from the atmosphere over longer periods of time. This helps achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, according to which as many greenhouse gas emissions as possible should already be avoided today. Aviation is also dependent on contributions to climate protection projects in other areas if it is to meet its own ambitious goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, which is why negative emission technologies (both technological and biological) need to be promoted and pursued with all possible speed. SWISS has for example entered into a long-term partnership with the Swiss pioneer Climeworks to jointly drive forward the scaling of the innovative Direct Air Capture technology for removing carbon dioxide from the air.
SWISS and the Lufthansa Group support climate protection projects all over the globe together with their customers. Such projects include the rewilding of moorland in Germany, the construction of biogas plants in Nepal, the use of energy-saving stoves in Burundi and Kenya and the protection of threatened forests in Tanzania.
All these projects ensure that CO2 emissions are either avoided or bound from the atmosphere in the longer term. Such projects outside Europe are certified to the highest international ‘Gold’ or ‘Plan Vivo’ standards. And the impact and quality of local European climate protection projects are assured through their compliance with domestic standards such as ‘MoorFutures’ or the CH VER guidelines.
These climate protection projects further help to ensure sustainable development and achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SWISS offers its customers a range of products through which they can contribute to more sustainable travel. Customers can support more sustainable flying by using SAF and contributing to climate protection projects in the amount of their estimated flight-related CO2 emissions and therefore support the CO2 savings of future flights.
Direct Air Capture
Direct Air Capture (DAC) is a technology for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The CO2 can then be permanently stored in deep geological formations, making it a highly relevant negative emissions technology for achieving SWISS's net-zero target.
SWISS is specifically committed to promoting relevant technologies and has entered into a long-term partnership with the Swiss DAC company Climeworks. The common goal: to accelerate the development of Direct Air Capture technology.
As a global leader in direct air capture, Climeworks removes historical and unavoidable CO2 directly from the air. The CO2 is then permanently stored in the ground by its storage partners, such as Carbfix in Iceland. Only renewable energies are used as energy sources for this process.
Direct Air Capture is not only a crucial complementary measure for aviation to achieve its CO2 targets, but also a highly relevant technology for the future production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
How Direct Air Capture works
1.
Ambient air containing CO2 is drawn into a collector by a fan. It is then passed through a filter that captures the CO2. When the filter is completely filled with CO2, the collector closes and the temperature rises to around 100°C.
2.
This causes the filter to release the CO2 so that Climeworks can extract the concentrated carbon dioxide. The CO2-filtered air is released back into the atmosphere.
3.
Finally, a partner company injects the CO2 into basalt rock formations, where it turns to stone within two years. Like this, the CO2 is safely and permanently removed from the atmosphere.